Operation Arrowhead Ripper

U.S. and Iraq forces kill 90 al Qaeda in offensive
BAQUBA, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi forces say they have killed 90 al Qaeda fighters around Baghdad during one of the biggest combined offensives against the Sunni Islamist group since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

2 al-Qaida leaders captured in Iraq
BAQOUBA, Iraq - U.S. and Iraqi troops captured two senior al-Qaida militants and seven other operatives Saturday in Diyala province, an Iraqi commander said, as an offensive to clear the volatile area of insurgents entered its fifth day.

The U.S. military also cracked down elsewhere in Iraq, saying in a statement that seven other al-Qaida fighters were killed and 10 suspects detained in raids in Tikrit, east of Fallujah, south of Baghdad and in Mosul.

Three other militants suspected of having ties to Iran were detained in a predawn operation by U.S. forces working with Iraqi informants in Baghdad's main Shiite district of Sadr City, the military said separately.

U.S. forces tighten grip on Iraq city
"We are enveloping the enemy into a kill sack," said Command Sergeant Major Jeff Huggins from the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade.

'Al-Qaeda gunmen' killed in Iraq
US helicopters have killed 17 gunmen with suspected al-Qaeda links in Iraq's Diyala province north of Baghdad, the US military says.
The attack took place on Friday morning outside the town of Khalis.

U.S. says 30 militants killed in big Iraq offensive
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi forces killed at least 30 al Qaeda militants and found numerous weapons during the first full day of a big offensive against the Sunni Islamist group north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said on Wednesday.

Al-Qaida's End?
Arrowhead Ripper isn't an athlete, a TV star or a person famous for being famous. It's the code name for a massive U.S.-led assault under way in Iraq's Diyala province -- an undertaking that has garnered token media coverage since it began Tuesday.